Blizzard of 2003 closest competitor

Snow on Main Street after the 1913 blizzard. (Longmont Museum and Cultural Center/courtesy photo)

A century ago Longmont residents found themselves buried in what would become a historic blizzard.

Heavy snow fell on the city between Dec. 1 and Dec. 5, 1913, with most piling up on Dec. 3 and 4, according to Longmont Museum curator of research Erik Mason.

The museum is commemorating the historic blizzard by posting diary entries from a man living in the city at the time. Eben White, one of the city's original settlers, was highly involved in the civic activities at the time and chronicled the blizzard and aftermath in his diary. The diary itself will be on display at the museum, while entries will be posted on the museum's website at longmontmuseum.org/collections/1913blizzard.

This photo shows the aftermath of a blizzard that struck Longmont between Dec. 1 and Dec. 5, 1913. The residents are pictured at Boze's Farm near Sixth Avenue and Pratt Street. (Courtesy Longmont Museum and Cultural Center)

By Dec. 3, 1913, White was on his third day of shoveling snow, according to the diary, and much of the blizzard hadn't hit.

NOAA records show that the blizzard dumped 45.7 inches of snow on Denver and has not been seriously challenged since. Comparatively, many adults recall the Blizzard of '82, which piled 23.8 inches on Denver and surrounding communities. A March 2003 blizzard dropped 31.8 inches, which marks 1913's closest competitor.

Longmont's official snow records, which were taken at the Sugar Factory east of the city, show that in all of December 1913 Longmont got 29.8 inches of snow. The historic records do not show the data by day, according to Times-Call weather consultant Dave Larison. Daily Camera weather historian William Callahan noted in 2007 that the blizzard of 1913 dropped 43 inches of snow on Boulder.

Larison said it is possible Longmont didn't suffer the level of snowfall that Denver and Boulder did.

"Actually, it does make sense, as the Longmont sugar mill site is 4950 (feet in) elevation while Boulder and most of Denver are higher elevation and get more of an upslope effect with snowstorms," Larison wrote in an explanation about the differences in snowfall across the communities. "Denver averages 60 inches seasonal snowfall, while Longmont averages 45 (inches)."

All the same, the snow caused plenty of havoc. Mason said the Butler Greenhouse at Third Avenue and Kimbark Street collapsed under the weight. A Times-Call history columnist also noted that the snow caused the Epsom Cannery's free-standing machine shops to collapse, and that a beet storage shed at the Sugar Factory collapsed and workers tried to dig it out. The column noted one of the workers was buried under 15 feet of snow and fellow workers had to dig to free him. Reportedly, "he came up laughing," the column noted.

White's diary recounted that even a week after the snow many roads remained impassable, Mason said.

Museum photos feature piles of snow that rival the full heights of men standing nearby and damage caused by the heavy snowfall. Mason said entries from White's diary will be posted daily on the website through Dec. 10.

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